1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to manual needleweaving in the field of handicraft and, more particularly, to multi-columned needlewoven strips and a method for forming them.
Such needlewoven strips may be assembled, by sewing together for example, into various intended projects such as tapestries, mats, shawls, sweaters, cushions, etc. which are substantially two- or three-dimensional in shape.
The strips may also be assembled together into a patch that has a particular ornamental pattern and can be attached, independently or in combination with others, to a desired fabric or other surface of an article for the purpose of ornamentation or decoration.
The invention does not relate to a particular type of weaving needle per se that has an eye formed in its lower end portion and is designed for performing the needleweaving method according to the present invention. 2. Description of the Relevant Art
The weaving needle to be used for performing the method of the present invention is already proposed by the Inventor of the present invention in Japanese Patent No. 884,970 (Publication No. 52-11893, published Apr. 2, 1977; Application No. 47-100965, filed Oct. 6, 1972).
Also proposed in the above Japanese Patent No. 884,970 is a certain needleweaving method which is closely relevant to the present invention. In this known method as well as in the method according to the present invention, a plurality of known weaving needles, known core yarns, and surface yarns, are used to make the same types of needlewoven projects as mentioned in the foregoing.
In either method, the core yarns are threaded respectively through the eyes of the weaving needles to provide hanging cores for supporting loops of the surface yarns thereon, substantially in the same manner and for the same purpose.
In the known method, however, the looping way of the surface yarns is different from that in the present invention, which causes a certain inconvenience as will be described in detail hereinbelow with reference to FIGS 9A to 9D and 10A to 10C of the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 9A to 9D illustrate a first variation of the known method in which a pair of weaving needles 1a, 1b, two pairs of core yarns 2, each having a predetermined length and color, and a plurality of surface yarns 3a, 3b, . . . , each having a predetermined length and color, are used to form a two-columned woven strip 6 having a predetermined number of strip parts 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d.
Each of the two needles, 1a, 1b has an eye 4 formed in a lower end cone 5 thereof.
In operation, each of the core yarns 2 is threaded through the eye 4, with both ends hanging down to provide a core for each of two columns 6a, 6b to be formed of loops 7a, 7b of the surface yarns 3a, 3b, . . . , as illustrated in FIGS. 9B and 9C.
Before starting the weaving, the first surface yarn 3a is tied in its lower end into a slip knot 7, which is slid onto the first or left needle 1a.
In the weaving operation, the loops 7a, 7b are formed when the first surface yarn 3a, starting from the knot 7, is brought clockwise under and over the second or right needle 1b, and then counterclockwise under and over the first or left needle 1a. The same steps are repeated as the weaving continues by crisscrossing the surface yarn 3a in the shape of a "FIG. 8", as illustrated in FIG. 9B.
After the surface yarn 3a is woven into the first strip part 8a on the needles 1a, 1b, it may be slid down onto the hanging cores 2, while the second surface yarn 3b is woven into the second strip part 8b on the needles in the same manner as described, as shown in FIG. 9C. By repeating such steps, a two-columned needlewoven strip 6 having the columns 6a, 6b is obtained. The needlewoven strip 6 may have a plurality of strip parts 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, . . . closely disposed along the length of the cores 2, as shown in FIG. 9D.
Thus, by selecting colors of the surface yarns 3a, 3b, . . . , the two-columned needlewoven strip 6 may be made to have a laterally-striped pattern of various color combinations.
According to the known method as described above, however, it is impossible to make the color of the first column 6a different from that of the second column 6b. In other words, the known method does not provide a needlewoven strip 6 with a vertically-striped pattern of two different colors or with a staggered color pattern.
Further, it will be easily understood that the needlewoven strip 6 will be easily disassembled if one of the two cores is removed from the strip 6.
FIGS. 10A to 10C show a second variation of the known method in which five weaving needles 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, each having an eye 4, are used to form a five-columned needlewoven strip 6'.
In operation, five pairs of core yarns 2 are threaded through the respective eyes 4 to provide five hanging cores for the five columns 6p, 6q, 6r, 6s, 6t which are formed of the surface yarns 3p, 3q, . . . , in which the surface yarns are formed into loops 7p, 7t only on the end needles 1a, 1e as illustrated in FIG. 10A to 10C.
After the first surface yarn 3p is engaged with the first needle 1a by putting its lower end slip knot 7 onto the first needle 1a, the yarn 3p starting from the slip knot 7, is brought over the second needle 1b, under the third needle 1c, over the fourth needle 1d, and then under and over the fifth or last needle 1e. Subsequently, the surface yarn 3p is brought back under the fourth needle 1d, over the third needle 1c, under the second needle 1b, and over and under the first needle 1a, as best shown in FIG. 10A. The same steps are repeated as the weaving continues.
After the first surface yarn 3p is woven into the first strip part 8p, it may be slid down onto the hanging cores 2, while the second surface yarn 3q is woven into a second strip part 8q in the same manner as described, as shown in FIG. 10B. By repeating such steps, it is possible to obtain a five-columned needlewoven strip 6' having a plurality of strip parts 8p, 8q, 8r, 8s, . . . for an intended project, as shown in FIG. 10C.
Also in the second variation of the known method, the five-columned needlewoven strip 6' may be made to have a laterally-striped pattern of various color combinations, by simply selecting colors of the surface yarns 3p, 3q, . . . . However, the five-columned woven strip 6' cannot be made to have a vertically-striped pattern of different colors.
Further, the needlewoven strip 6' will also be easily disassembled or broken or if one or more of the cores 2 are removed from the strip 6'.
Therefore, the known method described above has a disadvantage in that the respective columns of a multi-columned needlewoven strip must have an identical color pattern, which results in a limited range of selectable patterns for the needlewoven projects.
The known method has another disadvantage in that a core yarn is always required for each column of a needlewoven strip and in that such needlewoven strip will be broken or disassembled when one of the core yarns are removed. Consequently, very thin needlewoven projects are not possible because a whole sectional thickness of each strip cannot be less than a total value of the thickness of the surface yarns plus the thickness of the core yarn or yarns.
Further, in needlewoven strip formed in accordance with the known method, the loops of the surface yarn on one needle are not interlocked with those of the surface yarns on any adjacent needle. Naturally, the loops are easily movable undesirably along the length of the strip. Thus, the needlewoven strip is disadvantageous in that the loops are unstable.
On the other hand, it is well known in the field of weaving that interlocking of the yarns makes a woven strip firm and stable and that complicated interlocking of the yarns is possible when a specifically designed weaving machine or apparatus is used, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,406 to Mitchell.
Disclosed in Mitchell is a braid which has a first set of two or more core yarns disposed lengthwise side-by-side and in a common plane with a set of two other core yarns, a group of surface yarns braided about one of the sets of core yarns, another group of surface yarns braided about the other set of core yarns, in which a surface yarn of each group is interlocked once with a surface yarn of the other group along the length of the braid.
Mitchell's braid appears very firm and stable. However, it appears very difficult or almost impossible to form such braid in manual operation, without using the weaving apparatus disclosed in Mitchell.